Hûb Falthol
Also known as the Bay of Whales, Hûb Falthol (S. "Spouting Bay;" La. Merihenkien Satama) was the westernmost gulf of Forochel, lying between Hunter's Isle and the Minheldolath. All manner of whales gathered here to mate, feed and frolic, until winter drove them southwards in search of warmer waters. Their great spouts could be seen from miles away, a herald of spring and a signpost for whalers. Hûb Falthol was also haven to Jäävuori, greatest of the berg-delvings of the Merimetsästäjät. Jäämies settlements dotted the shores of the bay year-round, and to these were added the summer encampments of the Merimetsästäjät. Both groups hunted the waters of the bay extensively. Though at times aloof, these cousins of the Lumimiehet had grown accustomed to sharing their hunting grounds with Cardolanian whalers, receiving strangers in their villages without alarm and always willing to engage in barter. The wanderings of the Merimetsästäjä berg-delvings upon the bay were governed by the currents of wind and sea; but though constantly in motion, the relative positions of these bergs to one another and to the bay itself remained largely stable. Jäävuori, largest of the bergs, circled the southern reaches of the bay, accompanied by three lesser bergs, while the citadel-like Tonkaupunki plied the sheltered northern waters between Hunter's Isle and the mainland with its own entourage of satellites. A large hautauskumpu, or burial berg, located near the center of the bay was shared by all the Merimetsästäjät. A great sheet of ice, thin and unstable, covered the bay in early autumn, making it dangerous to cross on foot. The ice-crafty Jäämiehet could tell at a glance where it was safe to tread and where it was not, but to the untrained eye these "safe paths" were virtually invisible. Becoming stranded on a piece of drifting ice presented less danger here, however, than elsewhere in Forochel, since the prevailing current of Belegaer drove such floes landward (and so, up against the more solid pack-ice). The winter ice-floes upon Hûb Falthol were a home to many varieties of seal and walrus, making the bay a favored hunting ground for snow bears. While not generally man-eaters, these predators could become aggressive if they felt that Mannish wanderers had invaded their territory, and would end up inadvertently driving the interlopers onto thin ice. During the summer "spouting season," boat-handlers also ran the occasional risk of being swamped or capsized in the wake of a leaping whale. The whales generally did not enter the northern portion of the bay, since it reached a depth of no more than thirty feet; instead, they swam only the deep waters beyond this rocky shelf (which typically extended between twenty and fifty miles from shore). There was a wealth of sea life in this gulf, brought up from the Belegaer by a warming current. Whales followed the smaller life forms to the edge of the ice, and were hunted in their realm by Lossoth and Cardolandren whalers. The Lossoth dwelt mainly along the Rast Naethlos on the eastern shores of the Hûb-in-Uinin (S."Bay of Whales"), for fear of the Helneryth (S. “Ice Giants”) and worse things that took fish from the western shore. The Cardolandrim had once kept summer huts and stations along the Bay. The assumed reason for the abandonment of this practice was the increasing cold of the last few centuries; a few knew that the decision was made after a season marred by repeated incidents in which the corpses of sailors drowned in the bay had walked ashore and tried to break into the huts. Category:Bay Category:Forochel Category:MERP